Process for improving liquid potassium soaps



atented may 25, $3?

human amass PRQUESS FOR WRQVIING EJIQ'UIID PGTAS- SEW SQAPS Fritz Draishach, Ludwigshafen-omthe-Rhine, Germany, assignor to the firm Hall Laboratories, lino, Pittsburgh,

No Drawing.

Serial No. 311,129, 1935 5 om. It is already known that sodium soaps can be improved by an addition of sodium metaphosphate. The addition of sodium metaphosphate in the first place has the property of forming complex salts with the' hardness producers of the water which can no longer enter into reaction with lime-precipitating agents, such as for example soap and soda, and then it also has the property of activating soda soap. This can be very l0 simply proved by the fact that sodium metaphosphate when added to a soap solution considerably diminishes the surface tension of the latter although an aqueous metaphosphate solution itself brings about no change in the surface tension of water.

If new it is desired to treat potash soaps, such as liquid potassium soaps, e.'g., a 15% camomiie soap, with sodium metaphosphate a cloudiness is at once found which is due to the formation of difiicultly soluble sodium soap. The obvious thing to do would he to obviate this drawback by using potassium metaphosphate. This expedient, however, failed by reason of the sparing solubility of this salt in water.

It has been found that potassium metaphosphate can be made water-soluble just as satisfactorily and rapidly as sodium metaphosphate if a melt or potassium-metaphosphate and sodium metaphosphate is prepared, and accordingly the method of improving potassium soaps provided by this invention consists in adding which the molecular proportion of the former salt to the latter exceeds 1:1. For example, 2 mols oi sodium metaphosphate sumoe to make 8 mols Application November 16, 1936, Germany @ctoher 31 of potassium metaphosphate readily and clearly soluble, while less sodium metaphosphate already gives rise to cloudiness and difilcultly soluble products. If 2-5% of this melt containing excess of potassium metaphosphate (referred to 5 the weight of the soap) are added to a 15% cammomile soap then this solution remains completely clear and clean.

What I claim is:

1. A process for improving liquid potassium l0 soaps, which consists in adding to said soap a mixture of potassium and sodium metaphosphates in which the molecular proportion oi potassium metaphosphate to sodium metaphosphate exceeds 1:1. i5

2. A process for improving liquid potassium soaps, which consists in adding to said soap a fused mixture of potassium metaphosphate and sodium metaphosphate in which the molecular proportion of potassium metaphosphate to so- 2 dium metaphosphate exceeds 1:1.

3. A process for improving liquid potassium soaps, which consists in adding to said soap a fused mixture of potassium nietaphosphate and sodium metaphosphate in which the molecular 25 proportion of potassium metaphosphate to sodium metaphosphate is about 3:2.

4. Liquid potassium soap containing potassium metaphosphate and sodium metaphosph'ate in which the molecular proportion of potassium 30 metaphosphate to sodium metaphosphate exabout 3:2.

FRITZ DRAISBACE. 

